Not now, not ever

Sometime later, Bruno quit drinking with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous. He walked into a meeting – in English because he felt the Americans handled addictions more positively, more actively than their French counterparts – and seemed to never walk out. I was, and am, fiercely proud of him, because I knew how hard it was to take that final drink and know he would never be able to drink a glass of champagne or fine burgundy, or click a martini glass with me again. Not now, not ever.

Extracted from Ghosts by Daylight: A Memoir of War and Love
by Janine di Giovanni (Bloomsbury)

© Janine di Giovanni 2011